The war: Avatar universe based short story
by Benjay1997
Summary: A young girl is plunged into a world where violence is a everyday occurrence. The fire nation ruled for hundreds of years, now the age of earth has come.


The war

It began when I was girl; my father worked for the fire nation, he made grand weapons of war to use against the other attacking factions. We lived in the colossal capitol city called: Tithabyu. The twisting streets and towering building were my home, I hope to return there again, if only once. My brother and me were never very close, he belonged to the 'Fire Foxes,' a group of young pyromancers who thought that the government was weak, the fire nation should rise up and take what is 'rightfully ours.' Long ago, it was said that all the nations answered to the Phoenix Lineage, a family that had governed the pyromancers for generations. Currently we have Emperor Corrio in power but he is old and will soon be gone. I was 15 when it all happened, the first attack. I was with Jerab, my best-friend and current boyfriend, we were walking in the market streets of the lower district, how I miss him. The sun was nearing its peak when a low rumbling started deep within the walls of the city; it felt like the very earth we were walking on was ripping in two, which of course wasn't far from the truth. A dust cloud erupted from the castle courtyard and screams started singularly but soon became a chorus of terror.

"We've got to get out of here" Shouted Jerab, at that moment, time seemed slowed. I turned and ran in the opposite direction to which everyone else was running, towards the chaos that was quickly consuming my home. I was just barely aware of Jerab at my heels when bolts of light flew past my head at figures I hadn't noticed. My body was acting before I took in what was happening. From the earth, bodies rose from mounds of dirt and stone like moles in a field. I felt the familiar heat in my fingers erupt and hit my targets square in the chest. Being only a novice my attacks did nothing but make them stumble a few short steps, it still gained me a few precious seconds to run past. The targets that I missed fell under the onslaught of Jerab's more honed attacks. My lungs began to burn as I picked up speed, weaving left and right through the winding streets of Tithabyu, stepping over bodies of people I didn't want to recognise: Maria, she looked after me when my father was working, Teirnan, he gave me apples on my way to the college, Sam, her and me were friends once. They were all gone, just memories now. My brain was begging to take in what was happening around me, the charred remains of armour were scattered around the floor and some even impaled into walls. My muscles screamed in protest as I rounded the last corner; collapsing onto the open gate, the scene that was unfolding in front of my eyes both horrified me and inspired me at the same time. A flood of enemy soldiers had erupted from a gaping hole in the centre of the courtyard and began to attack nearby pyromancers, their combined might forming huge feats in bending. In that moment, it dawned on me who the intruders were, the people who had killed my friends, the evil that was sweeping across MY city, MY home; The Earthen Commonweal had come to crush us and they had started a war. I had my emotions in check, a beast waiting to strike but now they rolled over me like a flood, uncontrollable and devastating. It felt like I was fire, the familiar heat stronger than it ever was in training, just waiting to be unleashed. Bodies were already falling, from which side no-one knew, it was impossible to tell who was winning, the air was buzzing with the raw power being unleashed in such a small area. A cascade of deep red's and dazzling gold's whizzed past my eyes and merged with the rich blue's that the royal guard spewed out. They swirled and swerved around the stone projectiles that interjected into the majesty that is fire bending. Below: the true art, raw emotion and unrelenting power of fire is expressed; Pyromancer grouped together to bring the might of the fire nation down upon the attackers, they twist and turn in elegant unison. The terramancers practically mirrored them but their art was more aggressive, less elegance but brute force. They stomped and punched, shouted and turned all in harmony to block the fire balls that we fired at them and to answer in turn. This was violence but also beauty, not war but a dance; the oldest dance in creation; beautiful and graceful yet harsh and cruel. Jerab had caught up to me at this time, a cut across his face and a blood soaked sleeve showed that he had been busy.

"This is madness, why would the earthen commonweal bring this horror to an ally? I cannot fathom what they would gain from such an attack" He shouted over the roar of battle. I opened my mouth to respond but a thin slab of sharpened stone shot past my face narrowly missing Jerab who was standing behind me. I turned to see the assailant running towards us sending slab after slab in our direction. I leaned back and waited for Jerab to grab my foot and give me a boost. A split second later, I was airborne, free of the earthly bonds that were tightening with every second; I turned in the air and brought my foot down, imbued with fire, to crush my opponents head. That was the first time I had killed someone. I had ended someone's life, an actual person; I loved it. Jerab was running past me to join the fight and I quickly followed in suit, we stopped and stood side by side like we did in training. In that moment, we were one, the same being in separate bodies. We sent attackers fleeing and those that didn't run were left to their own fiery demise. My eyes were closed when I felt something hit my leg, I thought it was a simple boulder or small stone at first but the warm liquid that seeped down my leg told me otherwise. I ignored for as long as possible but it was becoming more and more difficult to stay standing and I fell to one leg. Jerab had begun attacking as a singular soldier, sending balls of fire at targets while ducking and dodging stones and the molten rock that had formed in the centre of the courtyard. The endless barrage of fiery attacks had taken its toll and I couldn't catch my breath. I had taken a short sword from a fallen terramancer and although I wasn't trained in any form of physical fighting, I held my own against the hordes of the Earthen commonweal, I slashed and had been slashed, I had slain and almost been slain. The large group of pyromancer s that had been the bulk of the defence had dispersed into smaller groups dotted around the battlefield. Strewn across the courtyard were bodies from both sides, fire fox uniforms lay ripped from their host and mixed with the crushed remains of the royal guard whose superior armour proved useless in the end. Blood, dust and charred remains painted the pale courtyard like a canvas, a dark and terrible statement to death; and death stood waiting to reap all the souls lost in the abomination that we had created. Yet there I stood a mere 15 year old against trained terramancers who should have crushed both me and Jerab by now. We were a statement to those who had died; one last cry of defiance. We were like gods; but even gods must fall. The pain from my leg seemed like a simple scratch compared to what I experienced next, it was sudden and sharp; it attacked every fibre of my being and left nothing to fight back with. It destroyed the idea of me and left only pain in its place. A blade had pierced my lower back on the right side, slipping deep and angled down. I had never felt something so terrifying; it was strange to feel that sharp curved blade deep in my body. I fell away from the blade onto the scorched stone, bursting my lip and blackening my eyes.

"Get away from her!" Jerab screamed as a blast of heat singed my back. After that point things were just a blur of heat and shouting, however I do remember people running, lots of people running. I awoke in a large open planned room with pearl white walls decorated with fire nation canvases. On the far side of the room a mahogany chest of draws rests under a mirror which stretches the length of the wall. The bed I lay in was draped with the usual red, orange and gold of the fire nation, which matched my clothes; I had no memory of being changed but I still seemed to be in clean, fresh clothing. I wasn't aware of somebody sitting next to me until they gently squeezed my hand, his hands were so soft; It was one of the things I remember about him and his eyes, they seemed to pierce your soul, judge you and forgive you of all your sins all at once. They were so red, they smouldered and danced; not only were they the window to his soul but they showed you the inner beauty of your own. His hair swooped low over his left eye, grazing his right, hiding a large portion of his face but still showed his square jaw and gorgeous lips.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked in a gentle tone, giving me a warm smile. I started to move my body into a better position when a stab of pain shot through my back to the ends of my fingers. I tried to hide it as much as possible but the mask of impartiality seemed to betray my discomfort because he jumped up and began to flap his hands around.

"What do I do? Where is the pain? Do you want a platypus?!" he screamed in his panicked way. He was so cute but he was no good when it comes to me. I started to giggle at his reaction but even that brought little spasms of pain to the forefront of my brain. I gave him the usual 'I'm fine' and 'don't worry' speech which seemed to calm him down, or at least his flapping stopped. He rambled on about fire foxes or something that I wasn't listening to; my attention was drawn to a small bird across the room which had landed on the veranda, it jumped and tweeted while the beautiful rays of sunshine shone down onto its golden feathers creating the illusion of a burning bird.

"Did you hear me? Sam, this is important," he said waving his hand in front of my face, "During the attack, something happened; we didn't think that they had gotten so far into the palace but the terramancers attacked the factories. The remaining guard immediately opened fire but in the chaos… They have the best people on the case… but in the confusion, your father went missing" He almost whispered the last part but it felt like he had taken a sledgehammer and crushed my heart into a million tiny pieces, grinded them into dust and burned the remains. It couldn't be true, he was the head engineer for the emperor, and they wouldn't have just let him go, could they? Whatever pain I had been feeling before, had been replaced with anger, how could they let this happen? I pulled off the covers and slid myself out of bed onto the cool tiled floor. Step by step I moved towards the door, Jerab's screams of protest were soon silenced, I was radiating heat, and the air around me was vibrating. I had reached the door when a hand touched my shoulder, pulling me gently back into the room but I was going to pay someone a little visit, or that was until that person paid me the same pleasure.

He was just as impressive as I remembered; his chiselled muscles and strong neutral face oozed power and authority. He had jet black hair, darker than any night but his eyes; they couldn't hold a candle to Jerab's but they were the very essence of fire.

"Ah Samantha, isn't it?" He asked, I answered with a courteous nod, "I am terribly sorry to hear about your father, we have several intelligence agents looking for him but nothing has turned up yet. I came here to ask a favour of you, well of both of you. We would like to enrol you into a special force of fighters who will be the driving force in the retaliation attack." He got straight to the point, a point that had turned out better than I had hoped.

"How dare you! My father was your most faithful servant but you didn't even bat an eyelash at his capture! You just wandered in here and expect me to join your 'special' group of fighters because he is missing?" I bellowed at him, all hindrance of rank and social status went out the window along with my self-control. His response took me back.

"Yes"

"Fine, I'll fight, but on my own terms" I proposed, he gave a nod and left leaving me, Jerab and his personal goons. Something didn't feel right, they never left his side so why are they still here? I glanced at Jerab who seemed to be thinking the same thing. I stepped back towards the window but as soon as my foot left the floor they were moving. There were three of them, two charged Jerab while the other drew his sword and crept towards me. Flames erupted from Jerab's first in the same instant, blowing the right leg off the first attacker but that didn't stop the other two. I turned to meet the third guard assuming the usual defensive stance with my own twist on it. That's problem with fire bending, it lacked defensive moves. He lunged forward with his Shashka, a long curved blade, and twisted his blade to slash up towards my body. I used a short burst of fire to throw myself to the side and bumped into the four-poster bed. I risked a look sideways at Jerab and he lay on the floor with his attacker pinning him down. I summoned flames to form a wall between me and the guard, giving me a few seconds to concentrate. Fire walking is a very difficult practise, it allows a fire bending to be consumed by fire and reformed in a different place. As a child you would often hear of people burning whole houses down when trying to attempt it. I focused on the spot behind the tall man with the pointy sword, and allowed the flames to consume me. I opened my eyes in a separate place, exactly where I wanted to be. A short blow to the back of the head left the space between me and the window open. Jerab was still struggling with his attacker but I couldn't stay, I couldn't help, I had to go. Sometimes I think back and wonder if it was more of a case of I wouldn't stay, I wouldn't help and I wanted to go. I have done some cold and terrible things since then but that is the only one I regret.


End file.
